You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog.
Harry S Truman

By Azra Isakovic

Friday, February 12

Good morning

Welcome to Your Friday Briefing

Books

Science – Probable Impossibilities – Musings on Beginnings and Endings, by Alan Lightman | IndieBound
Book Excerpts –  ‘It Seems That I Know How the Universe Originated’ by Alan Lightman | The Atlantic

Must-Reads

China – China’s Inequality Will Lead It to a Stark Choice, By Branko Milanovic | Foreign Affairs
France/Europe – Macron’s Mini Me  Rym Momtaz, Politico EU
Health – Vaccines vs variants: the race to immunise the developing world | Financial Times
Health – The west should pay attention to Russia and China’s vaccine diplomacy | Financial Times
Health/Germany – How Germany Lost Control of the Virus, Anna Sauerbrey | New York Times
Germany/Russia/Energy – Nord Stream 2: construction resumes under pressure from sanctions | OSW
UK/Netherlands/Finance – Amsterdam ousts London as Europe’s top share trading hub | Financial Times
US/Economy – Bidenomics 101: Inside the White House’s Plans to Bring Jobs Back | New York Times Magazine
EU/Technology – EU Weighs Deal With TSMC, Samsung for Semiconductor Foundry | Bloomberg
Sweden/China – EU’s front line with China: Stockholm | Politico
Norway/Russia – Norway intelligence warns , | Barents Observer
Europe – The challenges of European identity | Martin Sandbu | Financial Times
Armenia/Azerbaijan | Unfinished Business in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict, T. de Waal | Carnegie Europe
US/Iran – A World Where Iran Is Always ‘On the Brink’  Assal Rad, Responsible Statecraft
China/Pandemic – How Beijing Faced the Outbreak  ChinaFile

Research & Analysis

EU/Economy – Winter 2021 Economic Forecast | European Commission
Health/US – Public policy and health in the Trump era, Steffie Woolhandler, et al. | Lancet Commission
China/Taiwan – The Most Dangerous Flashpoint in the World  Robert Blackwill & Philip Zelikow, CFR

Podcasts

Covid, saison 3 (4/4) : Tourisme d’hiver : la pente glissante | France Culture